Unlikely Bond
by Hejiras
Summary: Ethan reaches out to a person in Erica's past, and discovers something about himself in the process. SPOILERS for "Everything She Wants" and onward. M/M. No flames. If you don't like, don't read.


Recently I've fallen in love with a little show on CBC called _Being Erica. _It's a brilliant show, and if you haven't heard about it, check it out. You'll thank me later.

**DISCLAIMER: All characters from the show _Being Erica _are property of CBC and Temple Street Productions. I do not own any of these characters, except for OCs that may appear throughout. **

**NOTE: This story, as noted in the summary, revolves around events occurring in the first season of _Being Erica _starting from the episode "Everything She Wants", so if you haven't watched that episode and onwards, be forewarned that there are SPOILERS here. **

**This story also makes reference to M/M and F/F relationships as well. If you don't know what those are, please look them up for yourself and decide if you want to continue reading. No flames. You have been warned. **

**Here we go.**

**Chapter One – Making the Call**

More than anything, Ethan was surprised at himself, for a variety of reasons. For sneaking into Erica's apartment (well, it couldn't really be considered _sneaking_, considering he had a key). For snatching her purse from her bedroom— while she was still asleep. For searching through her cell's address book, hoping wildly that she hadn't deleted the number. For finding the number and, inevitably, making the call.

He was in his apartment now, the one next to Erica's— they were dating, but he felt some distance should still be established, given, well, given how likely the two of them were to run into someone else and throw yet another curve in the winding road of their relationship. For him, it had been getting back together with Claire. For Erica, it had been…

All this he considered as he sat on the couch, wearing flannel pyjamas and a T-shirt, tapping his fingers on the coffee table in unison with the dial tone. He hoped Erica was a late riser on Sunday mornings; he couldn't imagine her discovering what he intended to do.

The ringing ended. Ethan, feeling his heart pump relentlessly in his chest, jumped in.

"Hey there. I'm Ethan Wakefield. You might not remember me, but—"

"Who is this?" a voice, groggy with sleep, said. "Erica? Is that you?"

"Um, no," Ethan said, realizing that he was, in fact, using her cell phone. "This is Ethan. Ethan Wakefield. I don't know if you remember me, but—"

"Sure I do. We met at that party. You were the one Julianne was stuffing full of olives."

Ethan smiled a little. "Yeah, that was me. Listen, I was just wondering if you'd—"

"How _is _Erica, anyways? I haven't heard from her ever since she got into a cab and sped off."

"Erica's fine," Ethan said. "Actually, we're, ah, dating."

There was a loud and significantly more awake-sounding chuckle from the other end of the line. "So _that's _why you're using her cell phone."

"Yeah. Listen, I was just wondering, since you probably have a bad taste in your mouth from the whole Erica thing, if you'd just want to hang out? You seemed like a really good guy at the party, and I was hoping we could still be friends."

"Sure, I guess. But it's four o'clock in the morning, you know. Not exactly the best time to check my calendar."

"Well, you can call me back, then. Do you have a pen and paper? Here's my cell number."

"Okay then. Thanks. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."

--

Later that day, Ethan met Erica for lunch at a small French restaurant on Front Street East. While waiting for their food to arrive, Ethan couldn't help tapping his fingers on the purple tablecloth and sneaking furtive glances at his cell phone. Erica was, to put it lightly, puzzled.

"You seem tense," she said. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no," he said, taking a gulp of white wine. "Everything's fine. Just expecting a call, that's all."

"From who?"

"A colleague at school."

"Oh, okay. Listen, is it alright if I leave for a few minutes? I want to check on our food. Julianne would _slay_ me if I went over my break."

As soon as Erica was out of sight, Ethan felt his cell, which he had put on vibrate, hum. He withdrew it from his pocket and checked the screen.

_Tonight good? 8 PM?_

_-Ryan_

His response was straightforward.

_Yes._


End file.
